Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises recently decided to fully equalize status levels across both brands and Silversea Cruises. All three brands are owned by Royal Caribbean Group and previously only offered limited level matching.
It's a major benefit for any top-tier member of any of the three cruise lines' loyalty programs.
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The Loyalty Status Match program offers you the best benefits at sea. Members can now receive a one-for-one status match across all three Royal Caribbean groups. (LCR) Brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea.
This is a very smart move on the part of the cruise line, as it encourages customers to maintain the family relationship, so to speak. A family that typically cruises with Royal Caribbean may include parents who would prefer a more adult environment on Celebrity or a true luxury experience on Silversea.
If they choose to do so, they will receive recognition equivalent to that of the cruise line with the highest status. They will receive the same recognition, albeit under a different name, but the benefits will not be the same.
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How Royal Caribbean Group Status Matching Works
Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises still maintain separate loyalty programs. If you sail on a Royal Caribbean ship, you'll earn Crown & Anchor Society (C&A) points, while any voyage on Celebrity will earn you Captain's Club (CC) points.
Your points are not combined, but rather both cruise lines give you a comparable status level. This means that if you have the next Captain's Club level, you will also have this Crown & Anchor Society level and vice versa.
Crown & Anchor Gold is equivalent to Captain's Club Platinum, while C&A Platinum and Emerald are equivalent to CC Select. The C&A Diamond level, where the most significant benefits are found, coincides with the CC Elite level, the Diamond Plus level and the Elite Plus level.
The program now includes Crown & Anchor Society Pinnacle members and Captain's Club Zenith members. Previously, matches peaked at Diamond and Elite.
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Celebrity Cruises offers different benefits
If you cruise on Celebrity Cruises and have Royal Caribbean Diamond status, you will get Elite benefits. These are different than what Royal Caribbean offers to Diamond level members.
Elite members, for example, receive an invitation to a daily cafeteria-style breakfast served in one of the ship's restaurants. Diamond members have 24/7 access (in most cases) to the Crown Lounge, an exclusive space on the ship with a sleek coffee maker, a concierge, snacks and hot dishes, as well as bar service from 5 to 7 p.m.
Diamond and above members also receive 4-6 beverage vouchers each day (one more for each level they move up). These vouchers can be used anywhere on the ship, with the exception of Starbucks-branded locations, as well as on the private island Perfect Day at CocoCay.
Celebrity Cruises does not offer vouchers. Instead, the line offers a happy hour with unlimited drinks at many onboard bars every night from 5 to 7 p.m. Many Captain's Club Elite and above members would like to see celebrities adopt the voucher system.
That's because the coupons (which are digital, not printed) can be used for any drink up to $14. They can also be used at any time of day, which is much more flexible than a limited happy hour.
During a recent post on Cruise Critic Ask me anything During the session, many people asked Celebrity President Laura Hodges Bethge if her cruise line could adopt Royal Caribbean's coupon system.
“At this time, we have no plans to change our beverage benefit to match Royal's. The Crown & Anchor Society benefit is more focused on beverages, while we are more focused on cocktail hour and the member meeting experience,” he said.
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The Celebrity president noted that the match was not an attempt to make the shows the same.
“The matchmaking program gives you the same status across our sister brands so you can enjoy the benefits they offer when you cruise with them. We haven't changed the benefits so they are the same across all brands. Each program is tailored to each brand,” he added.
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